Impact of patients' attitudes and dynamics in needs and life experiences during their journey in COPD: an ethnographic study

The patient journey in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD): a human factors qualitative international study to understand the needs of people living with COPD

BACKGROUND

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a common condition that causes irreversible airway obstruction. Fatigue and exertional dyspnoea, for example, have a detrimental impact on the patient's daily life. Current research has revealed the need to empower the patient, which can result in not only educated and effective decision-making, but also a considerable improvement in patient satisfaction and treatment compliance. The current study aimed to investigate the perspectives and requirements of people living with COPD to possibly explore new ways to manage their disease.

METHODS

Adults with COPD from 8 European countries were interviewed by human factor experts to evaluate their disease journey through the gathering of information on the age, performance, length, and impact of diagnosis, symptoms progression, and family and friends' reactions. The assessment of present symptoms, services, and challenges was performed through a 90-min semi-structured interview. To identify possible unmet needs of participants, a generic thematic method was used to explore patterns, themes, linkages, and sequences within the data collected. Flow charts and diagrams were created to communicate the primary findings. Following analysis, the data was consolidated into cohesive insights and conversation themes relevant to determining the patient's unmet needs.

RESULTS

The 62, who voluntarily accepted to be interviewed, were patients (61% females, aged 32-70 years) with a COPD diagnosis for at least 6 months with stable symptoms of different severity. The main challenges expressed by the patients were the impact on their lifestyle, reduced physical activity, and issues with their mobility. About one-fourth had challenges with their symptoms or medication including difficulty in breathing. Beyond finding a cure for COPD was the primary goal for patients, their main needs were to receive adequate information on the disease and treatments, and to have adequate support to improve physical activity and mobility, helpful both for patients and their families.

CONCLUSIONS

These results could aid in the creation of new ideas and concepts to improve our patient's quality of life, encouraging a holistic approach to people living with COPD and reinforcing the commitment to understanding their needs.

Audiovisual Recording in the Inpatient Setting: A Method for Studying Parent-Nurse Communication

Audiovisual recordings are under-utilized for capturing interactions in inpatient settings. Standardized procedures and methods improve observation and conclusion validity drawn from audiovisual data. This article provides specific approaches for collecting, standardizing, and maintaining audiovisual data based on a study of parent-nurse communication and child and family outcomes. Data were collected using audio and video recorders at defined time points simplifying its collection. Data were downloaded, edited for size and privacy, and securely stored, then transcribed, and subsequently reviewed to ensure accuracy. Positive working relationships with families and nurses facilitated successful study recruitment, data collection, and transcript cleaning. Barriers to recruitment and data collection, such as privacy concerns and technical issues, were successfully overcome. When carefully coordinated and obtained, audiovisual recordings are a rich source of research data. Thoughtful protocol design for the successful capture, storage, and use of recordings enables researchers to take quick action to preserve data integrity when unexpected situations arise.

Reframing Patient Experience Approaches and Methods to Achieve Patient-Centeredness in Healthcare: Scoping Review

(1) There has been growing attention among healthcare researchers on new and innovative methodologies for improving patient experience. This study reviewed the approaches and methods used in current patient experience research by applying the perspective of design thinking to discuss practical methodologies for a patient-centered approach and creative problem-solving. (2) A scoping review was performed to identify research trends in healthcare. A four-stage design thinking process (“Discover”, “Define”, “Develop”, and “Deliver”) and five themes (“User focus”, “Problem-framing”, “Visualization”, “Experimentation”, and “Diversity”), characterizing the concept, were used for the analysis framework. (3) After reviewing 67 studies, the current studies show that the iterative process of divergent and convergent thinking is lacking, which is a core concept of design thinking, and it is necessary to employ an integrative methodology to actively apply collaborative, multidisciplinary, and creative attributes for a specific and tangible solution. (4) For creative problem-solving to improve patient experience, we should explore the possibilities of various solutions by an iterative process of divergent and convergent thinking. A concrete and visualized solution should be sought through active user interactions from various fields. For this, a specific methodology that allows users to collaborate by applying the integrative viewpoint of design thinking should be introduced.